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{
    "id": 813533,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/813533/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 35,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this well thought- out Statement by Sen. (Dr.) Alice Milgo on what is increasingly shuttling towards becoming a national disaster, if it continues unchecked. As it is, Bomet County – as has been clearly brought out by the drafter of this Statement –is one of the counties that has been most affected by this skewed Government policy on registration of schools. You will find the director of Basic Education seated at Jogoo House, determining on his or her own volition which schools to register and which ones not to register. The minute we departed from the norms of what constitutes a primary or a secondary school, that is the point at which we lost it. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am a victim of these skewed policies by the Ministry of Education. There is a school close to my home in Kericho County where, up to now, form 3 students who are supposed to sit for the national examinations next year do not have Government registration as a secondary school. Sometimes when I travel home, the students make it their duty to be among those who queue to visit me each morning as their Member of Parliament (MP), making a singular plea. I have been to the Ministry of Education countless times to request them to register the schools because they have allowed them to admit students. The least they could do is to allow them to register, because the parents have been paying school fees. I do not think this is difficult because it is only after that registration that the Government can begin to give us the stories of what needs to be done, because they never observed the basic policies that were set out in the first place. I know for a fact that the Basic Education Act has requirements of what needs to be done before one can register a primary, secondary and even a tertiary institution. However, because those rules were flouted and bent, we now have so many institutions where children continue to go to school and they do not have an assurance. The burden must be placed on the Government, because they did not do their work diligently. After that, we can then have this discussion of what to register. If there are schools that we can amalgamate to form one institution, we will consider it at that point. Mr. Speaker, Sir, because this is an extremely important matter of national importance, I request that the contributions by distinguished Senators do not just end up filling the dusty shelves of our HANSARD rooms. Every contribution that has been made should be considered, wound-up, bound and sent to the Ministry of Education for consideration. I have listened to the views and it is clear that while Bomet County might be one of the most affected, this particular challenge is seen in almost every county. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}